‘Westworld’ Season 2 Confirms Leaving the Park, ‘SW’ Name

HBO’s Westworld surprised all of us with a Season 2 trailer for its 2018 return, though plenty of questions remain unanswered. Consider two mysteries solved, as bosses confirm we’ll leave the park in Season 2, and likely revisit the mysterious “SW.”

I think one of the things we’re excited about for the second season is that beyond Westworld, you’re going to get a look at the real world [outside the park]. Season 1 was ambitious. But Season 2 will be twice as ambitious in terms of scope and scale.

Whatever form that visit takes, Nolan hasn’t forgotten unexplored portions of the park itself, which Season 1 finale “The Bicameral Mind” revealed to include an “SW” that most presumed as “Samurai World,” given the likewise-armored Hosts inside. Another suggestion was that of “Shogun World,” which Nolan and co-executive producer Lisa Joy now seem to lean toward:

Nolan: We’re very engaged with the story we’re telling and the characters and the world we’ve come to know. But the concept of glimpsing some of those other worlds is exciting too. If we were going to shoot anything like “SW,” I think it would be cooler if it were called Shogun World!

Joy: We’re going to see an expansion of Westworld in a lot of ways. Not only are we potentially interested in exploring a world that has the initials “SW,” but we’re also going to be exploring the characters within the world that we know and some other characters we come across that are both host and human.